The Hope diamond was a 112 3/16 carat diamond described as ‘violet’, sold to the king of France in 1668. It was crudely cut, so King Louis XIV had it cut into a 67 1/8 carat stone described as ‘blue’. It was stolen during the French Revolution, and re-appeared in England. King George IV died in debt and it was sold. It was acquired by Henry Hope, whose name it carries. Again it was sold to pay debts. It passed through several hands (including those of Pierre Cartier) to Harry Winston Inc. in 1949. Harry Winston Inc. donated it to the Smithsonian in 1958, where it has become a popular attraction. It seems that the hopes of most who owned it were dashed.

Project Hope is a charitable institution that raises money to send medical help via ship to coastal poor people throughout the world. It offers help and hope to many people. If I’m not mistaken, the Ship Hope was banned from Ireland for religious reasons. But the good Ship Hope continues to offer hope to nations that will accept it. I have no idea what happens to that hope when the ship moves to the next port.

Hope House is an outreach program of the Diocese of Paterson. It offers family services, help for women in trouble, and counseling for substance abusers. It offers hope to many, through a series of very structured programs. To those who cannot accept that structure, it offers little or no hope.

The early Mennonite settlers named many of their villages for inspiring qualities. Here in New Jersey, we have Independence, Tranquility, Stillwater, Hope and Green. Oh, that’s a color, not an inspiring quality. Green is near White, but far from Orange. Go figure. Hope, New Jersey is a rural township in the hills of northwest Jersey. With the intrusion of I-80, it is becoming a suburban municipality. It’s main claim to fame is that the original Friday the Thirteenth was shot there. That’s definitely inspiring! Jenny Jump State Forest is there. Legend says that Jenny was a young girl who jumped off the mountain and died to protect her virtue from the local Indians. Though I’m sure that the Lenni Lenape would dispute this claim, this does not seem an inspiring story either. The Land of Make Believe is in Hope. It should be noted that it is not the other way round; Hope is not in the Land of Make Believe. The Land of Make Believe is a small theme park dating back to the 50’s or so. We still have a few of them in Jersey. Wild West City is still in Netcong. Fairy Tale Forest is still in Oak Ridge (or Newfoundland). I think the Gingerbread Castle in Hamburg has closed its gates (though the street signs in Hamburg are still enclosed in holders resembling the Gingerbread Castle.) Perhaps the Land of Make Believe inspires hope in some; perhaps it casts life in a false fairy tale fantasy. Who knows? But children still love it. Fairy tales can come true. It can happen to you. If you’re young at heart? I’m sure this is true. I’ve taken many odd trips as a National Park Service junkie (to try to visit all areas administered by the NPS). One of the first I HAD to see was Mammoth Cave, Kentucky. It is one of the largest cave systems in the world. It has several hundred miles of interconnecting passages. Of course, when it came into the hands of the NPS, the government bought up all the land nearby to protect it. People have been displaced; villages have disappeared. One signs up for a cave tour (there are many available) and boards a tour bus to the appropriate starting point of the tour. The bus we were on passed through Hope, Kentucky. The next village, Little Hope, was abandoned. The people had been bought out and had left. But still standing was the Church of Little Hope. I found this to be the strangest possible name for a church.

A large hole in New Jersey (and several other states)? No place for President Clinton to call home? A large hole in the human psyche? I would love to know what kept my friend Martha going. (For those who haven’t read her story, and those based on her life, she was a cantankerous woman whom life had stomped on at all possible opportunities.) I doubt very much that she had hope. I think it was sheer orneriness that kept her going. She died at 94 with maybe three friends in the world.